Referees Corner

I put a question to all the districts – How many districts invited referees instructors to take them through the Laws of the Game ? The answer in none and now they are complaining. I am not defending the referees but fact remains a fact. District officials, players and fans should be well versed with the Laws and the changes that have taken place. There were few mistakes made by the match officials but that did not affect the outcome of the match.#I received a call that winning goal scored by Nadi in the Semi final via a corner kick was incorrect because it should have been a goal kick to Labasa. After going through the DVD, I can say that the decision made by the referee was correct because the ball touched a Labasa player on its way out so it was clearly a corner kick. #Nadi officials and fans complained that both goals scored by Ba were result of incorrect decisions made by the match officials. This is totally baseless because the first one was a clear penalty as Nadi player deliberately handled the ball as his hand was not in a natural position. The second goal was awarded correctly because the Ba player was not in an offside position the moment the ball was played. Then people complain that second goal scored by Nadi was not offside. Again, I emphasized that the moment the ball was played, Nadi player was in an offside position. Both assistant referees were in line with the second last defender so they were in a best position to decide. How can people and officials judge offside when they are sitting in the middle? You have to be in line with the second last defender to judge offside. All soccer loving people should read Law 11, page 35 and 108. In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply:#Ø A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent.#Ø “ nearer to his opponents’ goal line” means that any part of a player’s head, body or feet is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. The arms are not included in this definition.#I have made clips after viewing DVD provided by Fiji TV on all these incidents and I am satisfied that match officials were correct. #Apart from this we all should be proud that a lady referee – Finau Vulivuli did the final. Why people want to belittle her by saying that a lady can not officiate or there are no male referees left in this country. It is high time that we need to respect women and give them equal rights. Late Indra Gandhi and Late Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of India and UK respectively. If these ladies can lead a country then why can’t Finau do the final. Why discriminate Finau? Finau has been on of the consistent referees in this country.#I also receive a call saying if there is any change in the Law regarding. I put the latest change in my last article but putting it again. There is slight change in terms of the wordings in offside law. #OFFSIDE LAW#OLD #Interfering with an opponent – means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.#Gaining an advantage by being in that position – means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a goalpost or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position.#NEW #Interfering with an opponent – means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or challenging an opponent for the ball. #Gaining an advantage by being in that position – means playing a ball:#1] that rebounds or is deflected to him off the goalpost, crossbar or an opponent having been in an offside position.#2] that rebounds, is deflected or is played to him from a deliberate save by an opponent having been in an offside position. #Question and Answers#1] Law 11: “Offside”, states that there is no offside infringement if a player receives the ball directly from…… #ANS – a goal kick, a corner kick or a throw-in#2] A player is in offside position, but not interfering with an opponent. He runs towards a ball played by a team-mate. Does the referee have to wait until the player touches the ball before he penalizes him? #ANS – Yes. The referee should wait and see if the player in an offside position interferes with play by touching the ball unless no other team-mate in an onside position has the opportunity to play the ball.#3] What is the definition of being involved in active play?#ANS – Interfering with play, interfering with an opponent or gaining advantage by being in that position.# Fiji FA MEDIA #

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About FIJI FA

Fiji was among the founding members of OFC along with Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The nation of around 800,000 has traditionally been one of Oceania best performers – second only to New Zealand in the FIFA rankings for men. The Fiji Football Association (FFA) nurtures hopes of one day toppling the giants in Oceania and qualifying for a FIFA finals competition.